


The One Where Phoebe Affects Joey

by ifwednesdaywasaflowerchild



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:17:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5097104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ifwednesdaywasaflowerchild/pseuds/ifwednesdaywasaflowerchild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nine times Phoebe affects Joey and the bonus time, he affected her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The One Where Phoebe Affects Joey

The first time Phoebe Buffay speaks French, Joey Tribbiani has to excuse himself for a good ten minutes. He's not sure if it's the way it rolls so effortless off of her tongue, the way her mouth wraps around the words, or maybe, it's because hearing her speak a different language makes him wonder what else she can do with her mouth. _No_. He can't. Phoebe Buffay is his best friend.

It just feels weird to think of her in that way.

It feels wrong.

So wrong.

_(But, so damn right, he's shoving his fist in his mouth to keep Chandler from hearing him.)_

xxx

"How 'bout a scone on the house, baby?"

"I'm pretty!"

He likes the way she giggles, and the way it colors her an endearing shade of pink, and how adorably embarrassed she is by the flattery. Normally, he lays it on thick for the sake of a one night stand, but not with her. No. He doesn't have to; not with Phoebe. He flirts with her because she's pretty and she's blonde and she's the best damn thing in his life, aside from Chandler. Because, nothing he says is a lie.

She is so damn beautiful, he's afraid of screwing up whatever it is he has with her.

_(He doesn't believe in reincarnation but Phoebe was totally a goddess in another life.)_

xxx

"JOSEPH FRANCES TRIBBIANI!"

Uh oh.

He's in trouble.

He knows what he did was wrong - hell, even the duck knows what he did was wrong, but he can't help it. He's like a little boy, always with his hand in the cookie jar, even though he knows he shouldn't. But, it's hardly Joey's fault that Phoebe is sexy when she's angry. It's hardly his fault she has a tendency to yell in French when she's angry. But, it is his fault when she busts into his bedroom, almost in tears, because he did something stupid.

But, that's not what's important, anymore. Nothing will ever be as important as righting Phoebe's world, when she feels like it's turned upside down.

_(Damn, this woman. She's getting to him.)_

xxx

"Hey Pheebs, you, me, dinner. What do ya say?"

"Pick me up seven."

He picks her up at seven and she's wearing a black dress.

Dear. Lord.

A black dress that cuts in at all the right places and swishes about her legs and clings to her breasts like a second skin. Her hair is pulled up and her eyes. Damn. So, so green. He swears he's never seen anything like the vision before him. And, although he loves the dress, he thinks he'd much rather see it on his floor.

"You look beautiful, Phoebs!" Joey will die before admitting his voice sounds breathless and pre-pubescent, but that's just what she's done to him.

_(The date goes well. He's right. The dress looks much better on his floor.)_

xxx

The second date is Phoebe's choice.

Fancy restaurants, be damned. She wants to stay in, eat Chinese, and drink beer. And, he thinks she might just be the woman he only ever thought he'd find in his dreams. Joey's so happy to comply with her request, he orders every vegetable-only dish on the menu, and completely forgets about his usual Miu-Shu pork.

She tastes like beer when he kisses her.

_(He smells like beer and almonds and Phoebe for a week. But that's okay. She refuses to wash her sheets. She doesn't want to lose the scent of his cologne.)_

xxx

She doesn't conform to anything.

Phoebe is a free-thinker, lets people live the way they choose, and remains content to live in her own little bubble, with her friends, and her hippie-all-veggie lifestyle. She believes in reincarnation and some form of Deity, refusing to ground her beliefs in one specific ideal, if only to bug Ross. A sense of spunk that perfectly reflects everything Phoebe is in this lifetime. It makes him proud that she can't be tied down by any specific thing. She's a lot like him in that respect.

Not a commitment-phobe like Chandler, but rather someone, who wants to live their life as they damn well please without asking permission from anyone to do so. Despite this, Phoebe harbors a secret desire to marry and have children, because she feels like it's important that she have someone to spend the rest of this lifetime with.

As much as he loves this woman, Joey is certain he can't be that for her.

_(Until, he dreams of putting a ring on her finger and making pretty blonde Italian babies.)_

xxx

Their six month anniversary rolls around.

Nobody can believe they've made it this long. Joey's notoriously a womanizer and Phoebe's reputation paints her as a bit of a flake. But, the two mix well. He still likes to charm and flirt and act like a skeeze but it's all for Phoebe, who's still just flakey enough to blush with flattery when he does so.

_(They make it to one year and Joey talks to Chandler about marriage.)_

xxx

Joey buys a ring.

Phoebe buys a pregnancy test.

He comes through the door of her apartment with the ring hidden away in his pocket because there's no plan in place, yet. She comes out of the bathroom, waving the stick around like some sort of carnival prize, because she's never been able to surprise anyone, or plan things. She's instinct and freedom and most assuredly _pregnant._

"I'm pregnant, Tribbiani!"

_(He doesn't propose for another nine months. When Bella Josephine Tribbiani enters the world and he finds himself in love with two girls. Only, one's his girlfriend and the other is his beautiful baby girl.)_

xxx

Bella is four when they make it official.

Joey laughs when she prances down the aisle in her little flower girl dress; all pink and lace and so very Bella. Chandler just smiles because this isn't something he ever thought he'd see out of his best friend. Having a child, getting married, settling down. It was never Joey's style, but he's changed. Bella and Phoebe are the two loves of his life and he wouldn't trade what he has with them for all the women in the world.

_(The wedding album has a special section devoted to Joey. Their friends have never seen him smile so genuinely or so much. It's just what Phoebe does to him.)_

xxx

Her dress is beautiful.

Silk and lace and delicate beading and her hair is pulled up in something far too elaborate for her to ever do, which is why Rachel and Monica did it. She wears simple make-up and flat shoes and she is practically glowing with happiness. But, she swears she's not going to cry; for the sake of remembering this day clearly, without blurred vision, and not ruining her make-up and their wedding pictures.

That is, until Joey looks at her like she hung the moon in the sky.

_(Their marriage lasts the rest of their lives and he always looks at her like that. It gets her everytime.)_

　

　

　

　

　

　

　


End file.
